In this Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015 file photo, actor Robert De Niro attends a news conference in Macau. Organizers say Robert De Niro will present Martin Scorsese's restored "Taxi Driver" at the opening night of the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival on Friday, Aug. 12, 2016 and receive the festival's first lifetime achievement award. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, file)
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) --
Organizers say Robert De Niro will present Martin Scorsese's restored "Taxi Driver" at the opening night of the 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival and receive the festival's first lifetime achievement award.
Festival organizers said Monday that De Niro, who has won the Golden Globe, two Oscars and was nominated for another five Oscars, will receive the first honorary Heart of Sarajevo lifetime achievement award for his extraordinary contribution to the art of film.
The festival, which opens Friday, will offer viewers 223 movies from 61 countries over nine days.
The Balkan region's most important film festival draws more than 100,000 people each year and has come a long way from its humble beginnings in a city roamed by snipers and blasted by mortar shells during Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.
The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.
The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.
DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.
"While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.
The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.
The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.
DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More
